


Milkshakes

by chubbidot, MasterArchfiend



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chubby Lapis Lazuli, F/F, Fluff, Milkshakes, Weight Gain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:55:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27524203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chubbidot/pseuds/chubbidot, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterArchfiend/pseuds/MasterArchfiend
Summary: Lapis keeps going to the mall for art supplies, but she can never get past the cute blonde who makes the best milkshakes in the food court.
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), background Amethyst/Pearl
Comments: 29
Kudos: 120





	1. Peridot's Repeat Customer

It was a ridiculously slow day in the food court, but Peridot was more than content to spend her time behind the counter of Barn Shakes studying rather than paying attention to any customers. That was why the blue haired girl who cleared her throat awkwardly on the other side of the cash register received a particularly venomous glare before Peridot caught herself. She switched almost immediately to her customer service smile, but she was pretty sure her momentary lapse hadn’t gone unnoticed based on the smug look the other girl was giving her.

“Hi, there! Welcome to Barn Shakes! How are you doing today? What can I get for you?” Peridot hoped that if she kept up the cheery facade the customer wouldn’t make too big of a deal out of the initial look she’d been given.

The blue haired girl quirked one eyebrow up and Peridot found herself thinking that the reaction was pretty cute before she could stop herself, “Just a small vanilla shake, please.”

Peridot nodded quickly and broke eye contact, hoping the heat in her cheeks wasn’t visible, “Of course. That’ll be $2.39, may I have a name for the order?”

The smug smile remained and Peridot cursed herself silently for letting her facade slip twice in front of this girl, “Lapis Lazuli.”

“Lazuli. Got it. I’ll have that out in just a moment.” Peridot spun around and walked back to the kitchen, eager to get away from the pretty girl. She cursed herself for a second time for continuing to think the girl was attractive. Sure her eyes were ocean blue, her fair skin a light brown, her swimmer's build, and the specks of paint across her tank top. God she needed to hurry so this girl would leave.

Peridot made the milkshake with almost expert ease and made herself a mental note that maybe she had been at this job a little bit too long. She returned to the counter to find the girl still waiting for her. She handed off the drink and accepted her payment without another word. Lapis walked off, sipping on her shake, and Peridot shook her head before going back to her textbook. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to see that girl again any time soon.

Peridot’s hopes were not well met as Lapis showed up again the next day and the day after that, for the rest of the week. The repeated encounters with the pretty girl had Peridot looking forward to her day off even more so than usual. As far as she was concerned, Sunday couldn’t come soon enough. Near the end of her shift on Saturday, she found herself yet again hoping that Lapis would not return, maybe she had better things to do with her weekends, but yet again her luck proved nonexistent as she was met with that smug face for the sixth time that week.

Peridot put on her best fake smile and turned to look at the girl, “Hi, there! Welcome to Barn Shakes! How are you doing today? What can I get for you?”

Lapis smiled back, “I think I’ll get a medium shake this time.”

“Of course. That’ll be $2.39, Laz-” Peridot paused and blinked at the girl in surprise, “Oh! I’m sorry. That’ll be $3.39, my mistake.”

“Only a buck more? That’s a pretty nice deal for such a good shake.” Did she wink when she said that?

Peridot froze, “Excuse me?”

The girl shrugged, “The shakes here are good, that’s a nice deal.” Was she leaning forward?

Peridot knew her blush was obvious this time, “Oh, um, thank you.”

“You make them yourself?” Okay, she was definitely leaning forward.

“Uh, yeah, usually. There tends to only be one or two of us on shift at a time.”

“Well, you do a good job, uh…” Lapis squinted at the short girl’s name tag, “Peridot.”

“R-Right…” Peridot turned around and waved her hand dismissively, “I’ll go get that for you.”

She scurried into the back at a faster pace than was probably appropriate, but she needed to get away from Lapis as quickly as possible. Once she was in the kitchen she stopped and leaned back against the wall, running a hand through her blonde hair. Why the hell had that encounter been so stressful? She had complemented the most basic shake this place served. It was a standard recipe, there was no reason for Peridot to take the complement so personally. Not to mention her body language seemed off.

It's probably just been a long week. She groaned and pushed herself off the wall, quickly preparing the milkshake and leaving the kitchen to transfer it back to Lapis. Tomorrow really couldn’t come soon enough.


	2. Unsolicited Advice

Lapis sat in her car, sucking down the last of her shake. She sighed and let out a small burp, her hand coming to rest on her full belly. Her usually toned stomach was sticking out an extra couple of inches with the addition of an entire milkshake downed in less than 10 minutes after a particularly heavy breakfast back home. She groaned and leaned her head back, closing her eyes and recounting the events that had led to this. 

She had been coming to the mall all week to pick up new art supplies, but every time she got sidetracked in the food court. She told herself this morning that she would take a different route through the building, even going so far as to prepare herself something to eat before she left in the hopes of lessening her cravings. However, despite arriving at an entirely separate entrance, she still found her feet carrying her to Barn Shakes. Instead of just turning around and actually bothering to find the art shop she was trying to look for, she walked right up to the cute blonde girl behind the counter and ordered herself a medium shake. The second the words left her mouth she was mentally cursing herself for her lack of self control, but she maintained her calm demeanor and rolled with the situation as best she could. She was so embarrassed by the encounter that she had decided to head straight to her car, rather than stick around and finish her errands. 

Today had been a near repeat of every other day that week, except this time she sized up her order for no discernible reason. She sighed and lifted her head back up, shifting gears and pulling out of the massive parking lot to drive back to her dorm.

Thankful that she was on the first floor and close to the entrance, the bluenette quickly made her way to her dorm room only to be met with an unpleasant sight when she came in. Standing there, arms crossed and with an expression that screamed "lecture" was her roommate Pearl. A bit taller than Lapis and thinner than a telephone pole with peachy pink hair, she was attractive, but Lapis couldn't understand how anyone could stand dating someone who could be such a mom.

"You got another milkshake, didn't you?"

Lapis rolled her eyes and made her way to her bed, laying down with a sigh. "I don't need this right now."

"You stuffed yourself with a big breakfast this morning, which wasn't very healthy, just so you wouldn't be tempted to get another one and you still couldn't avoid it! Are they that good?"

The other let out another sigh, this one quite exasperated. "Yeah, I guess. The cute girl who makes them knows what she's doing."

"A _cute_ girl?" Lapis could hear the teasing tone in Pearl's voice. How did her girlfriend put up with this?

"Forget this! I'm taking a nap."

She felt Pearl sit at the foot of her bed and huffed when the pinkette didn't speak. "Ugh! Fine! She's cute! Shorter than me with crazy blonde hair that sticks up like a triangle, a gorgeous build, an adorable button nose, the dorkiest glasses I've ever seen, and eyes like an ancient forest from above! Can you stop bugging me now, _mom_?"

Lapis felt Pearl get up and heard her rummaging through her wardrobe. "Okay. Have it your way, but if you seriously think this girl is so cute, then you should just ask her out instead of sadly downing her milkshakes. I've got to meet Amethyst to go to the movies. Text me if you need anything."

With that, the bluenette was alone, Pearl's voice playing on repeat in her head "ask her out" "ask her out" "ask her out". That actually wasn't a completely awful plan. Maybe she could try tomorrow. Reaching under her bed, she pulled out a small bag of chips and ripped it open. All of this stress was making her hungry.


	3. Texts from Amethyst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well it turns out Lapis isn't the only one with a roommate whom believes they should be asking someone out and Amethyst presents a very compelling argument.

Peridot let out a relaxed sigh as she typed up her botany essay on corn. Her room was quiet, save for the Camp Pining Hearts soundtrack playing at a respectable volume, with Amethyst working the day shift at Barn Shakes. School work was certainly less stressful than seeing _her_ again.

Amethyst didn't let up when the repeat customer was mentioned off-handily. The Latina hadn't stopped asking things like "Do you think she's hot?" "Are you going to ask her out?" "Can you invite her on a double-date with Pierogi and me?" It had only ended because of her date last night.

Living with her could be a bit hellish enough as it is with all the junk food laying around and how much she gushes over her girlfriend. Peridot had met Pearl a couple of times and it boggled her mind that someone as prim, proper, and intelligent could be dating her near polar opposite. Though if she were being honest with herself, a difficult task, then she'd acknowledge her animosity stemmed from envy.

Paper completed, the blonde decided it was time to focus on something less bitter and popped in some Star Trek in her DVD player. All the romantic talk this week had ruined her mood for the greatest show in the history of mankind, so yelling at Kirk for using the wrong head would be close enough. It was the fourth episode when her phone dinged with Amethyst's custom puma roar. She only texted if something had gone wrong and she needed help, teasing aside she generally respected her best friend's day off.

Big A: Yo, Dude?

Big A: Is this her? _file attached_

It was a picture of Lazuli, looking sullen as she drank a medium shake and ate some cheese sticks. Peridot was a bit surprised to see her that bummed out after a week of her acting so smug.

Peridactyl: What did you do?

Big A: Nothing! She came up like a woman on a mission, asked if you're here, and then deflated like a balloon when I said no.

Big A: Then she ordered a shake and some cheese sticks and lugged herself over to the table.

Peridot frowned. Why would Lazuli be so disappointed in not seeing her today? It wasn't like she was anything special with her messy, triangular blonde hair, pale skin, and short stature. Not to mention her dorky glasses. The bluenette should've been happy not to have seen her.

The phone went silent for several minutes and the blonde assumed Amethyst went back to doing her job when it went off before the sixth episode had even started.

Big A: DUDE!!! You need to ask this chick out.

Peridactyl: No, I do not.

Big A: Trust the puma. She's 100% your type. _file attached_

It was Lazuli again, only with a more clear view of her shirt, probably a size too small judging by how it hugged her figure, or rather, how it hugged her full stomach. Peridot could feel her face heating up at the thought. The shirt had "Percierre for Life" written across it with a smattering of yellow and blue maple leaves that looked like confetti.

"Oh my stars!" She squeaked out. Setting it to mute, she stashed the phone under a pillow and tried to forget the image she had just seen.

It was a futile effort since not even twenty minutes later she was opening up her messages to see it again only to get distracted by some missed texts from Amethyst.

Big A: Guess I went too far. Sorry Dude, but she does seem like someone you'd like to know better.

Big A: Bringing pizza home for dinner. Usual salad?

Peridot typed a quick "Yes" before laying back to think about Lapis. Maybe she should try to get to know her. They obviously already had one thing in common. How bad could it be?

\-----------------------------------------

Lapis pouted on her way to her dorm, an almost ridiculous amount of cheap chocolates and one bag of banana chips from the vending machine stuffed into her backpack. The first one was for feeling like an idiot and not realizing that Peridot would have a day off from work and the second one was so that Pearl wouldn't harp on her. Pearl, however, wasn't present when she walked in; a note was left out, explaining her absence being a trip to the library, complete with a promise to bring back a muffin from the campus bakery. Lapis tossed the note out and plopped down on her bed, tearing open her first chocolate bar. Alone with her negative thoughts and a pile of junk candy, she knew this would be a bad evening.


	4. Aftermath

Lapis groaned and rubbed her distended stomach. She was lying flat on her back, surrounded by candy wrappers, with her shirt pushed up underneath her chest. She heard the lock click open on her door and hurried to pull her shirt back down as Pearl stepped into their room. Lapis cursed silently when her shirt rolled right back up, exposing her stuffed belly to her roommate. She could feel Pearl's eyes on her as the taller girl walked inside, shutting the door behind her.

"You're a mess."

Lapis's cheeks flushed with a mixture of anger and shame, "Shut up."

Pearl rolled her eyes and walked over to sit on the edge of Lapis's bed, holding the muffin she had brought in a paper takeaway bag, "I don't suppose you're going to tell me you had company over to share all of this with?"

Lapis turned on her side, facing away from her roommate. She let out a short burp and another groan from the movement.

Pearl sighed and started picking up the discarded wrappers that covered Lapis's bed, "I get the feeling this has to do with that cute girl from the milkshake place at the mall?"

Lapis wrapped her arms around her middle, cradling her overfull stomach, and groaned again.

"I'll take that as a yes." Pearl stoop up and took the candy wrappers to their trash can, "Get rejected then?"

Lapis muttered a small, "No..."

"Well then what happened?"

"She wasn't there..."

Pearl sat back down on the bed, "She wasn't there so you... shut yourself inside and ate a bunch of chocolate?"

Lapis nodded.

Pearl sighed and placed a hand on the tan girl's shoulder, "Lapis, you know how unhealthy that is. I get that you're feeling bad, but that doesn't mean you can ignore your health. What else have you had to eat today?"

"A milkshake and some cheese sticks... maybe a few of those individual sized chip bags before I left..."

Pearl shook her head, "I don't know how you didn't die of malnutrition before you got here. I'm going to go make something actually healthy for dinner and I'm keeping this muffin for myself. Take a shower while I'm gone, you got chocolate everywhere. Your sheets could stand to be washed too."

Lapis sat up slightly, her rounded belly preventing her from sitting fully upright, "Alright, alright! I get it. I'll clean up. Just go cook or whatever."

Pearl left with a small sigh, making a show of unwrapping the muffin as she walked off. The bluenette sat, pouting at her discomfort until she was sure her roommate was busy sifting through cabinets. Grabbing a change of clothes, she trudged to the bathroom.

Once inside she began to strip down, cursing herself for getting stains on her favorite shirt and exhaling with relief once she removed her jeans. Catching herself in the mirror she let out a small sigh.

"I really did a number this time."

Running a hand gently over her stuffed stomach, a part of her worried that it won't go down as much as it usually does. Lapis wasn't a stranger to binging, but it had never happened this frequently before.

"Pearl's right. I need to slow down before this thing becomes permanent, especially if I want Peridot to give me a chance."

Suddenly she heard some banging on the door, "I don't hear that shower running! Hurry up or your butternut squash will be cold!"

"On it _mom_!"

\----------------------------------------

Peridot didn't look Amethyst in the eyes when she got back, muttering a small thanks as she picked at her salad. She was so preoccupied that she didn't complain that they used Italian dressing instead of French and thankfully her friend waited until they were done to open the can of worms, so to speak.

"Are you going to talk to her?"

Peridot shrugged, still embarrassed with herself for how flustered the picture of Lapis made her. "I have to if she orders another shake, right?"

A soft arm wrapped around her shoulder. "You know that's not what I meant. At least give it a shot, I swear on my love life that she was really looking forward to seeing you."

This made the blonde perk up. Amethyst held many things dear, but her relationship with Pearl was on a level all of its own. "Really? Why? I'm just some dork trying to get an engineering and botany degree who works at a food court and looks like the nerd in every high school movie."

Amethyst hooked her chin and gently made Peridot look her in the eyes. "You are smart, funny, and tied as the hottest nerd on this and every other planet. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

Peridot felt herself feel a bit better. "Thanks, Amethyst. I'll try." Her friend nodded with a toothy smile. "You better text me with the deets, got it? Need to know how it goes for my BFF!"

"Ugh. Fine! It's not like there'll be much to tell." The blonde began to clean up their dinner, ready to at least try and talk with Lapis tomorrow.

"There'll be plenty to tell if she can pack it away."

"Amethyst!"


	5. Lunch Breaks

Peridot spent the morning on auto-pilot. Showering, putting on her uniform, driving to the mall (not a bright decision in hindsight), and even dealing with customers were all done while her mind was laser focused on her next encounter with Lapis.

\----------------------------

Lapis in the meanwhile was currently cursing herself for being too into tight clothes as she struggled to find a shirt that didn't ride up on her still slightly bloated stomach. It was her fault for having a big breakfast behind Pearl's back, but she needed something to keep the nerves under control. She didn't want Peridot to think poorly of her.

It took about an hour for her to find an outfit that fit well enough before she could run to the bathroom and make sure her hair was in order. In the mirror she thought saw a scale on the bathroom floor, turning around to make sure her nerves weren't getting to her, she saw that there was indeed a brand new scale on the ground behind her. Why would Pearl buy that? She always ranted about unnecessary purchases and there was no way either of them was big enough to worry about such nonsense.

Yet the more she stared at the device, the more Lapis recalled the amount of food she's devoured in the past week since her first trip to Barnshakes. Just the mere estimate of all those calories sent a chill down her spine. Removing her shoes, she tentatively stepped onto the device and waited for what felt like years for the number to display.

115 pounds. She was about 109 at her last check up two months ago so it wasn't a huge change. If anything at least a pound of that was probably from the breakfast still making her a bit bloated, and her clothes had to weigh something, so that number could be totally off as far as she was concerned. Suddenly her phone dinged with a text from Pearl.

Bird Mom: Have you gone to ask this girl out yet? I expected to hear how it went by now. Are you alright?

Lapis cursed again when she realized that this nonsense had taken her until it was almost noon. Sending a quick "I'm fine", she rushed to her car and drove to the mall. After having a hellish time finding a parking spot, she made her way to the food court, confidence waning with every step.

By the time she got to Peridot, she was feeling too self-conscious to notice that the blonde was equally as nervous. They both stood in awkward silence until the shorter of the two cleared her throat.

"Hey, Lazuli. I would love to take your order, but I am about to go on my lunch break." Her green eyes glanced off to the side and she seemed to fidget a bit, "Would you care to join me? My-my treat."

Lapis felt her breath get caught in her throat and could only nod for fear of her voice failing her. Peridot seemed to perk up with this and quickly filled an order of food.

Lapis found them an empty table and sat down, waiting for Peridot to join her with their lunch. The blonde girl placed a large shake, a plate of cheese sticks, and an order of nachos, in front of Lapis before sitting across from her with a small shake of her own.

"So..." Lapis began hesitantly, "How was your day off?"

Peridot seemed to brighten at the question, "Oh! It was really nice. Working here all week can be such a drag. I pretty much live for Sundays at this point."

Lapis deflated a bit and chose to focus on drinking her shake instead of responding.

Peridot spoke quickly, "Wait! I mean, working here isn't _all_ bad! I... I've gotten to meet you, and you seem pretty nice."

Lapis smirked and bit into a cheese stick, some of her confidence returning, "Woah there nerd. Don't hurt yourself. I'm sitting right here."

The shorter girl blushed furiously, "H-Hey! I just complimented you! Don't call me a nerd!"

Lapis laughed so hard she snorted, causing her to bring her hands up to cover her mouth as her face flushed, "Oh my stars..."

"Ha! You just snorted!"

"No, I didn't!" Lapis lowered her hands and glared across the table, "That didn't happen."

Peridot smiled broadly, "It totally did."

Lapis groaned and picked up a few chips, muttering to herself, "Great job, Lazuli... You just snorted in front of the cutest girl in the food court..." She could feel Peridot's eyes on her as she shoved the nachos into her mouth. She suddenly became aware of the way her jeans were feeling much tighter than when she had left her dorm room, the waistband cutting into her increasingly full stomach. She brought one hand down to try and fit a couple of fingers between her softening belly and her jeans to relieve a bit of pressure.

Peridot frowned, "You okay, Laz?"

Lapis ripped her attention away from her impending wardrobe malfunction and smiled awkwardly, "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. Just, uh... thinking about the time! Your lunch break must be over soon. I'm sure Barnshakes doesn't give you too much time off when you're the only employee for the whole day."

Peridot pulled out her phone to check the time and sighed, "You're right... I've only got a couple more minutes. I need to get back to the register in case anyone shows up."

Lapis nodded, happy to be free of what could have been about to turn into a ridiculously uncomfortable encounter, but also disappointed that her time with the cute girl had to end so soon, "Of course. Maybe... we can do this again some time?"

Peridot's face broke out into a huge smile, "Yeah! Totally! Same time tomorrow?" She stiffened and shook her head, "No. No, that's too soon. I'm sorry. When, um, when works for you?"

Lapis smiled softly, "Tomorrow is fine."

Peridot's eyes widened, "Really? O-Okay! I'll see you tomorrow then!"

As Peridot turned to leave, Lapis quickly undid the button of her jeans and sighed with relief when her belly pushed forward to fill the now open space, not bothering to try and pull her shirt down to cover it now that Peridot wasn't looking. She stared down at the food sitting in front of her, Peridot hadn't touched the cheese sticks or the nachos, and she finally realized that her normal shake order had been sized up as well. She chuckled to herself at the idea of Peridot getting distracted and picking up the wrong sized cup, it was pretty endearing how scatterbrained the small blonde seemed to be sometimes. She shrugged and took another sip of the shake as she picked up a cheese stick, better to finish all this food than to let Peridot's hard work go to waste. She was too focused on digging into her meal to notice Peridot glancing back over her shoulder and blushing at the blatant display of gluttony.

\----------------------------

Peridot's eyes widened at the sight of Lapis stuffing her face with the food she had made, round stomach pressing against her tight t-shirt and a sliver of tanned flesh peeking out from under the hem. Her blush deepened when she noticed that Lapis's jeans were undone and her stuffed belly was resting comfortably on her thighs as she leaned over her food. She turned around and hurried back to the kitchen before pulling out her phone and sending a quick text to her roommate.

Peridactyl: You were right. She's my type.

Big A: Told you ;)


	6. Friendly Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot returns home to give Amethyst the news and find out something new about her connection to Lapis.

Amethyst was slightly jumping on their couch when Peridot got back to the dorm, a bit winded and clearly having been at it for a while. The woman nearly tackled the blonde upon being noticed.

"Dude?! How did it go?! When's the date?! Where are you taking her?!" The long haired friend spoke in a short frenzy. Peridot felt her face heat up a bit and gently shoved her roommate back.

"We had lunch together and it was...really nice." She plopped herself on her side of the couch while Amethyst climbed back onto hers.

"Come on! Give me more!" Giving the big old puppy dog eyes, it was only milliseconds before the nerd went on.

"We talked and it felt just so right. Like we could talk for hours and probably would have if my break wasn't so short." Amethyst rolled her hands, encouraging Peridot to tell more.

"She agreed to have lunch with me again tomorrow!" She covered her burning face with her hands as her friend let out a loud whoop.

"That's amazing dude! I'm so proud of you!" She gave the blonde a strong side hug, "Just one more thing. Can she eat?"

"Amethyst!!"

"Can't answer the question?"

Peridot guessed her face was like a tomato with how much it burned, "She left with her jeans unbuttoned and shirt riding up."

Amethyst laughed. "I knew it! A geek and an eater! I gotta tell Pearl!"

\----------------------------

Lapis stood outside of her dorm room, fiddling with the button on her jeans. She got them buttoned after sucking in her stomach and pulled her shirt down in an attempt to cover her still slightly bloated middle. She opened the door to her room and saw Pearl sitting on her bed looking at her phone.

The thin girl looked up and smirked at Lapis's poorly hidden belly, "Hey. What's the name of that milkshake place you've been talking about?"

Lapis wrapped her arms around herself self consciously, "Barnshakes. Why?"

Pearl's smile grew and she went back to texting on her phone, "Oh, no reason. I just realized you'd never actually told me. You know, my girlfriend works at the mall. She's in normal retail throughout the week, but she works Sundays in the food court."

Lapis set down her bag and went to her own bed, "Hm. That's interesting."

"Hey, wait," Pearl stood up quickly, "before you get settled in, how about we go out and grab a bite to eat? A little congratulations for you finally talking to that girl. I've been dying to try the new pizza place down the road."

Lapis turned around to face her, " _You_ want to get pizza? Are you feeling okay?" She moved forward to place the back of the taller woman's forehead only to be slapped away.

Pearl rolled her eyes with a little huff. "I eat pizza! Sometimes... But that isn't the point. The point is, you've been out for hours, it's dinner time, and you deserve to treat yourself."

"Okay..." The bluenette began, a bit confused only for her stomach to veto further questioning with a small growl. It had been a bit since lunch "But you're paying."

Pearl smiled and sent another text before picking up her purse, "Great! Let's get going."

\----------------------------

"She's your girlfriend's what?!" Peridot screeched incredulously.

Amethyst doubled over with laughter, "I can't believe it. This is amazing."

"This is not amazing! This is awful!"

"It's totally amazing! Look at this!" Amethyst held up her phone so Peridot could see the screen.

Pierogi: Taking her out to dinner. Tell Peridot hello.

Peridot's face reddened at the thought of Lapis eating more food at dinner after her heavy lunch, "Oh my stars..."

Amethyst laughed again and slapped Peridot on the back, "Come on P-Dot! This is great! Now Pearl can make sure she's getting her fill when you aren't around." The Latina girl winked.

Peridot groaned and buried her face in her hands, "I don't know if this is morally sound, Ames."

"It'll be fine! Don't worry about it. It's not like she's gonna find out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coincidence? No. Some cosmic entity at play? In a meta sense. It's your one and only MasterArchfiend letting you know the next chapter will hopefully be a bit more meaty by comparison. What do I mean by that? Well I'm not telling so ask my co-author. 
> 
> Probably shouldn't though. Just check our Chubbidot's other work and give kudos and such.


	7. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another delightful lunch, but Pearl is getting a bit impatient. True best friends want what is best for you, even if they get a little pushy.

Peridot tried to keep her mind pure as she readied for work, even going so far as to recite carnivorous plants by continent in alphabetical order just so she could focus on something other than how much Lapis might've eaten with Pearl last night. The image of her leaving the food court yesterday with her stuffed belly too large to be hidden by her tight clothes kept cropping back up whenever she let her mind wander for more than a single moment.

Of course, every time she managed to get her mind out of the gutter, it went to other thoughts of the bluenette. The way she laughed, her beautifully dyed hair, the possibility that they might share an interest in Peridot's favorite show, the air of confidence she carried everywhere she went, how she ate all of that food yesterday without a second thought... Peridot shook her head in an attempt to banish that last thought as she arrived at Barnshakes.

"Stars, I might be in over my head."

She went through the process of opening up the shop while her mind continued to wander. She thought about how much food she should bring to lunch for Lapis, probably her normal medium shake to avoid suspicion after yesterday's large, the cheese sticks and nachos would probably be a safe bet again. She didn't want to go overboard and make Lapis uncomfortable, but the thought of pushing the bluenette to her limit and finding out how much she could really put away was quickly finding it's way to the forefront of Peridot's mind. As she stood idly at the cash register she began to imagine what the taller girl might look like in a few weeks' time. She thought about Lapis struggling to fit into her jeans with an empty stomach, the normally sharply defined features of her face beginning to soften, where the fat might decide to settle on her currently lithe frame. Peridot felt her face starting to heat up as she hurriedly shut down that train of thought before it could continue beyond a few weeks. She sighed to herself and took her extra textbook out from beneath the counter to study.

"I'm being such a creep. We're not even really friends yet, I can't be thinking about her like this."

\------------------------------

"So should I bring up hobbies this time? Is it too early for that? What if she doesn't like anything that I do?" Lapis tossed another handful of mini M&M's into her mouth to silence her own rambling.

"You should bring those up. Finding common ground is how you generate natural conversations and you don't have to love all the same things to a T. Now stop snacking or you'll ruin your appetite for lunch." Pearl snagged the tube of sweets away, ignoring the raspberry.

Lapis pouted, "I can't help it. Thinking about her just makes me so hungry. I guess it's the anxiety, but every time she's on my mind I feel like I need a bag of chips or something to keep myself calm." The bluenette looked down at her stomach. It wasn't much, but she knew it was getting softer and was only going to get worse if she kept this up. The definition in her abs was almost entirely gone and every time she ate recently she would stuff herself full enough to have a small potbelly. She cursed the fact that she had to meet this girl when it wasn't swimming season. It would probably be a good idea for her to invest in some slightly looser clothes when she went to the mall today, just to hide anything until she could get over her nerves.

Pearl shook her head and ate a few of the mini M&M's herself, "Sounds like you'll just be hungry again later when you actually see her. At least snack on something healthy if you really can't stop yourself."

"All your healthy snacks are gross. They're not filling at all either, I'd probably eat more of that stuff than the junk food."

Pearl rolled her eyes and tossed Lapis a bag of veggie chips, "Doesn't hurt to try. If you're going to eat, at least get some vitamins in your body while you're at it. Now," Pearl stood up from her bed and stretched, "I have to get to class. I don't know how you managed to secure a schedule that's entirely in the afternoon, but some of us weren't so lucky. I'll see you tonight."

Lapis watched quietly as her roommate picked up her bag and left for class. The moment the door clicked shut behind her, Lapis reached under her bed for a bag of actual chips to tide her over until lunch.

\------------------------------------

She ended up eating the veggie chips as well. Lapis couldn't understand why Pearl ate them as much as she did. She just felt bloated and unappealing, but the bluenette still made her way to the mall where Peridot was just getting off for lunch.

"Lapis! I was actually scared that you weren't going to show." The blonde's face grew bright red and Lapis felt herself relax. "What I mean is... _ahem_ The usual or do you feel like trying something else?"

"I guess the usual works, but can I have a medium this time. I, um, I had a brain freeze after the large." She really wanted to avoid leaving with her pants unbuttoned like yesterday, even if she felt her mouth water at the memory of the small spread laid out for her to share with Peridot yesterday.

"Oh! Sure! Um, do you mind getting one with cookie dough? Management is doing a promotion and it's cheaper for me to buy us two than just what we got last time." The blonde hoped her half bluff worked. Sure she would be paying less, but she left out her employee discount and her small bit of disappointment that Lapis wasn't up to eating as much as last time. Maybe she had eaten before she got there? Oh the idea of the bluenette having arrived shortly after a meal just to eat more was not a thought to have now.

Thankfully for the blonde, Lapis was too busy judging how much room she had to spare without looking like a pig to notice Peridot's embarrassment. Cookie dough was sure to have more calories than the vanilla, but Peridot would benefit from the discount. Maybe she should just pay for herself, except she realized her wallet was back in her room, left behind because her pants were a little too tight around the pockets.

Realizing she needed to answer, she went with her gut, "Sounds great! "

Peridot smiled and went to work making the milkshake. A few minutes later she came back out and met Lapis at a booth.

Lapis took a sip of her new drink and tried to ignore how much better it tasted than her original order, "So how have you been?"

"Oh, I've been pretty good. My roommate went crazy when she heard that I had lunch with someone yesterday. She has a strong investment in my social life." Peridot grabbed a mozzarella stick, munching it quickly.

Lapis snickered, "Same. Mine took me out for pizza. She even had some. It's so embarrassing."

Both sat for a moment, taking the time to realize they had both more or less hinted at their level of interest in the other. The Hawaiian girl decided to divert the conversation, "So how do you have time for classes? I never see you on campus."

"All of my classes are online. I basically do everything via my phone or laptop after work or between customers." The blonde spoke nonchalantly.

"How the hell do you manage that? I don't use my phone for anything but calls and Camp Pining Hearts videos." The bluenette leaned forward, too entranced by Peridot to worry about how her button was already pushing into her stomach.

"Well, you pretty much guessed it yesterday. I'm a nerd. My phone might as well be an extension of my arm. Mother pretty much raised me for an engineering degree since grade school, thinking that I didn't have a knack for her line of work, so those classes are no problem. The doctorate in Botany is the real challenge." Peridot munched a bit more, subtly sliding her food a bit closer to Lapis. "What was that about Camp Pining Hearts?"

Lapis set aside her empty container from her first dish, not paying attention to how she was absentmindedly eating from the other girl's half. "Just the best romantic drama ever! The only downside is how much of a slow burn the main ship takes."

"Percierre?"

"Percierre!"

The two both burst into a laughing fit, but before they could continue their talk, Peridot's phone let out an alarm. "Oh shoot! Lunch is over."

Lapis felt mood deflate a bit, the pressure of her stomach taking the spotlight. "Uh yeah. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Peridot and Lapis both blushed over how enthusiastic that reply came, the blonde quickly saying farewell as she dashed back to her post while the bluenette quickly ate her food, wanting to go sit in her car for a bit as soon as possible, even go so far as to ignore having to unbutton her jeans and letting her stomach peek out just a bit.

\------------------------------------

Lapis opened her door to find Pearl with her face buried in a novel, a plate of celery sticks with ranch beside her. That little detail was enough to override the bluenette's instinct to get her bloated belly out of her roommate's line of sight.

"I thought that you hated ranch." The blunt statement tearing the pinkette out of her book. "Wha? Oh! Yes, but the bottle was almost empty and close to the expiration date, so I figured that I would try to finish it off." Her frown was akin to the child denied the last stick of gum in a pack. "You can have them if you like. They're still crisp."

Against her better judgement, probably due to her unbuttoned jeans not reminding her of how much she'd already had to eat, Lapis took the plate and sat down to eat.

"How was lunch with that girl? What was her name?"

"Peridot and...it was good." The tan girl wiped some excess ranch away from her cheek, before licking it off of her finger, "We like the same show and ship. She's really smart and..."

"And what Lapis? Did she ask you out?" Pearl felt a small twinge of disappointment when Lapis shook her head.

"No! No. She just didn't showboat or do those God awful pick-up lines. It was the most genuine conversation that I've had with someone I liked in... years." The dreamy look in her eyes was one that her taller roommate was familiar with. The poor girl had it bad and Peridot was clearly taking it slow.

Pearl could respect that, but she knew Lapis had a habit of friendzoning herself if advances weren't made. As the bluenette's best friend, it was her duty to make sure the other had as few regrets as possible and this situation called for desperate measures.

"Well, it certainly sounds like you could use a small celebration. How about I order us some take-out?" The tan girl opened her mouth to object or perhaps question this odd suggestion, only for Pearl to immediately continue, "Perfect! I'll go place the order and pick it up! I'll be back!"

Just like that, Lapis was alone with an empty plate and a gut that sensed the upcoming meal with how it growled. She placed a hand on her rounded stomach and frowned at its bloated size. Take-out was not going to help this.

In her car, Pearl called up Amethyst on speaker phone.

"Hey, babe! What's up?" Amethyst always seemed happier when speaking to Pearl, something that the taller woman practically melted at. Or, she would if this wasn't a serious phone call.

"Save the schmooze for date night, love. I'm going to pick up some Chinese food for Lapis and I. Normally I would be against something like this, but considering your roommate's preferences and mine clearly having it bad for her; I agreed to contribute." Pulling into the parking lot, she quickly checked the time as Amethyst spoke.

"Yeah. P-dot's got a thing for the big ones. Honestly Lapis must be something cause she seems thin compared to the nerd's past girls. So what's the problem?" Her voice was accompanied by some clinking of glasses. Probably painting her nails again.

"Tell her she needs to make it clear she wants to be more than friends. Tell her to compliment Lapis's eyes or do that 'I accidentally held your hand' bit you still do-"

"That works like gold!"

"Even if she doesn't ask her out on a proper date tomorrow, she needs to make an advance. I'll try and get Lapis to take initiative, but Peridot needs to- Thank you very much- where was I? Oh yes. She needs to be proactive as well." Pearl was already pulling out of the parking lot, the order she placed earlier timed perfectly.

"Well she heard your whole thing and is currently redder than a tomato, but I think she gets the gist. Right Dot?"

"Yeep." A nervous and somewhat nasally voice responded. Pearl felt her lips curl a bit. She certainly sounded a lot better than Lapis's previous exploits.

"Okay. I'll see you later love and I better see a very happy roommate tomorrow or the next time she's at the mall it'll be for that Bike-o-Rama on the opposite side." Hanging up the phone, the tall woman fished out an eggroll to snack on as she gathered up the food.

\------------------------------------

Peridot lay on the floor. Not moving except for the small motions that indicated she was still breathing. Amethyst was putting away her nail polish, admiring the new patterns she came up with. Neither really spoke for several minutes until the Latina tossed something into the trash.

"Where do you take Pearl?" Peridot's voice was hoarse, as if she was afraid to speak. Accurate, to say the least.

"Movies, the park, restaurants with a healthy menu, concerts... Pretty typical stuff. It doesn't matter so long as you two have a good time." Amethyst turned on the tv to an advertisement for the local art museum.

The blonde shot up just in time to stop her roommate from changing the channel, "Wait, stop! That's it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Everyone! It's your one and only MasterArchfiend extending the mutual wishes that you had the happy holiday fun you wonderful readers deserved! 
> 
> On a small side note: does anyone feel we're going too fast with the dating? This story is going to be fairly well lengthen regardless, but I think that as writers, feedback would always be helpful. (This is mainly me asking out of personal curiosity. )


	8. Testing The Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot tries to gauge the chances of Lapis saying "Yes" to a date.

Amethyst made a show of inhaling deeply when Peridot stepped out of the bathroom, earning herself a glare from the blonde, "Is that your emergency perfume? Are you asking her out?!" The Latina jumped up and down on their couch excitedly.

"I'm thinking about it." Taking a comb, she made a last minute attempt to style her hair on the way out, using her phone as a make-shift mirror, "Try not to break the couch while I'm out."

"I'll leave that honor to you and your girlfriend!" Peridot hoped no one heard that as she quickly shut their apartment door and rushed to her car.

\------------------------------

Lapis glared at her reflection. She wore a large, black band t-shirt that would hopefully be just big enough to hide her stomach after she inevitably stuffed herself at lunch. She lifted up the shirt to look at her slowly growing belly. It was covered in a soft layer of flab that left her previously chiseled abs as nothing but a memory. She dropped her shirt again and sighed, looking back up at reflection.

"Ugh! Why am I being so self-conscious about this?" She groaned, now was not the to worry about her weight gain. She didn't want to be late.

The drive to the mall went as usual, and soon she was walking through the food court only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw Peridot behind the counter. Was she looking extra hot today? Her hair seemed styled in a way that highlighted the natural angularness of her jawline. Her usual thick, dorky glasses were replaced with a more sleek, thinly framed pair. Everything about her seemed sharper but in a good way. She even smelled nicer than usual. Was that lilac?

The blonde noticed Lapis's reaction to her small changes and felt her confidence rise. This was good. The bluenette wasn't appalled or put off by her dressing up. Now for the hard part. In theory, she could treat the rest of this like one of her games. Just make the right dialog choices, play to her strengths, and everything should be fine, but she needed to be careful. One mistake might ruin everything. Peridot left from behind the counter and went to join Lapis at a table.

"Hey, Lapis. I got us something simple if that's okay with you."

Lapis straightened up a bit and nodded, "Oh! Okay. Ho- Cool!"

Lapis wanted to kick herself. Weren't the nerds supposed to be the awkward ones in these kinds of things? Did Camp Pining Hearts lie to her? Or maybe she had misjudged their roles here. Peridot was certainly seeming like the more confident and sexy one today while Lapis knew she wasn't dressed up as much as she usually liked to be and her body probably wouldn't be considered the sexiest if Peridot could see it now.

The meal was indeed simple, burgers and sweet potato fries with vanilla shakes. Part of Lapis wished Peridot had chosen cookie dough again, but the feeling of her softening middle pooching out ever so slightly over her jeans reminded her that this was probably for the best.

At first, lunch was mostly just small talk. They discussed other shows they both watched, more about their respective majors, and named a few general hobbies. Nothing that interesting until Peridot asked a question.

"So... you always come here alone. I noticed before we started having lunch together. Any particular reason?" Peridot leaned forward a little bit, showing that her top couple buttons were undone.

The bluenette averted her eyes quickly and hoped her blush wasn't noticeable, "Uh, I- oh! Umm... no. Just no one to go with, you know? My roommate is busy and all that."

"Really? No partner?" Peridot looked at Lapis over the rim of her glasses.

"Nnnn- _gulp_ Nope! Just haven't had a girl like me like that in a while." She tried to be nonchalant, but she took a huge bite of her burger to give an excuse to stop talking.

"Oh, I'm sure someone likes you that way." Peridot leaned back in her chair again and- wait, did she just wink?!

Lapis stared ahead dumbfounded as she tried to process what was going on.

The blonde glanced down at her phone, "Darn. I need to get back to work. Want my fries?"

The bluenette nodded and watched Peridot return to work with a bit of a sway to her hips.

\------------------------------

After Lapis finished eating and left, Peridot took a scan for customers, found none, and left the counter to go scream into her bag in the kitchen.

She sat down on the cool floor and leaned back against the wall, "I don't think my heart can take doing that again anytime soon."

\------------------------------

Back at her dorm, Lapis was finishing relaying the conversation to Pearl who was giddy.

"I'm so happy for you Lapis!"

"It's not like she asked me out..." Lapis tucked some hair behind her ear, looking off to the side.

The pinkette just laughed, "You don't ask a beautiful girl about her dating life unless you want to ask her out. That's what Amethyst did. Of course, she was a bit more blunt, but she has her moments that make every headache worth it."

"Can we focus on me here?! Do you really think she'll ask me out? I was so awkward."

Pearl gently nudged her roommate's shoulder. "I have a gut feeling she will, but if she doesn't, then it is her loss. You are a wonderful person with a lot to offer in a relationship." She patted Lapis's leg, "Now I'm going to take a shower. We can continue this later if you need it."

Lapis watched as Pearl left the room before lifting up her shirt and poking a finger into her stuffed belly, "Yeah, right... Even if she did ask me out, it'll be over as soon as she sees this..."

She pulled her shirt back down and laid back on her bed. Maybe she should try going for a run around campus to get back in shape.

\------------------------------

Amethyst looked up from her phone when Peridot walked in. "Seriously dude? You didn't ask her out?! I thought you wanted to date this girl!"

The blonde fiddled with her bag, pulling out two tickets, "I wanted to make sure she was actually interested before I got these..." Her eyes cast down to her shoes.

"Pearl's definitely confirmed that she's into you, so you can rest easy. Just, be real with her man."

Peridot glanced up and raised an eyebrow at her roommate, "How real?"

"Okay, maybe don't be _totally_ real. You can leave out the bit about secretly fattening her up until later." The Latina winked.

"I'm not secretly fattening her up! Pearl's the one taking her out for pizza!"

"Right. How many times have you bought her lunch now?"

"That's not fattening her up! That's being polite..."

Amethyst smirked, "Okay, sure. How many times have you sized up or changed her order to have more calories?"

The blonde frowned and set her tickets down before joining her roommate on their couch, "Whatever. She's not complaining. It's obvious she likes the food. I'm not trying to fatten her up."

Amethyst rolled her eyes, "Keep telling yourself that buddy, but soon you'll have a big, chubby girlfriend hanging around the apartment for you to feed all day," she chuckled as Peridot tried to hide her blushing face, "and clearly you're looking forward to that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload. That's on MasterArchfiend. Limited internet access has been killing my productivity, but hopefully I'll be in a better situation soon.


	9. The Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about time.

Peridot gripped the tickets in her hands, eyes wide with fear as she examined herself in the mirror. She had put in a bit of extra effort to make sure she looked nice, but not over the top. Hair combed so her triangular style looked more intentional, she had chosen her usual glasses, cleaned and polished so her green eyes were clear, and wore a simple ironed t-shirt and jeans rounded out her outfit.

Overall she looked great, but still casual, save for the look of fear on her face. Luckily Amethyst had sensed her best friend's trouble and was ready with a pep talk.

"You can do this, Dot. You are smart, beautiful, and fun to be around. You tell amazing jokes and make for one of the best shoulders to lean on. Any girl would be lucky to date you. You can do this."

She responded with a heavy gulp and hoarse whisper, "I can?"

The Latina nodded, "You can."

"I can. I can. I can!" The blonde's voice wavered less with each proclamation, "I can do this Amethyst! I can do this!"

\------------------------------

Lapis couldn't understand why Pearl was so instant about her wearing a nice gold blouse and sky blue Capri pants to lunch. Sure yesterday had been different from the days before, but that was no reason to change things today. Regardless, she was grateful for how well the outfit fit, the waistline not digging into her.

Her roommate had mentioned wanting to go clothes shopping last evening, saying that one of her outfits had been torn by her girlfriend, so she offered to take the bluenette with her to pick out some new outfits. She had said it was a good opportunity for her to "dress nice for Peridot." Lapis was mostly just happy that no comments were made about her need to go up a size.

Speaking of Peridot, she was going to be late if she didn't hurry. Grabbing her wallet and keys, she rushed out the door to make it to the mall. She made a mental note that she should probably start setting an alarm if she didn't want to keep leaving last minute.

When Lapis got there, she had to wait as Peridot dealt with a customer, so she passed the time by doodling on an app on her phone. She didn't get very far, but the blonde did ask to see it as she brought their food over.

"This is beautiful. You're really good at art."

Those wide, shining green eyes stared down at her and Lapis was positive she wasn't blushing from the compliment alone.

"It's just a rough sketch, but thanks. I've been really into art for as long as I can remember. My father actually used to own an art gallery back in Hawaii." The bluenette ate a couple of fries as the blonde raised a brow.

"Used to?"

Lapis quickly waved a hand once she noticed the look of worry on Peridot's face, "He sold it to my aunt when he retired last year. Wanted to treat mom to a worldwide tour. They were in Dublin when we spoke last week."

The blonde relaxed and Lapis thought she looked cute as she fumbled with her bag, "Well, speaking of art, I was wondering, and it's cool if you're not interested, I totally understand, but I think it would be a lot of fun and-" Her face was beet red as she stumbled over her words and Lapis leaned in a bit to encourage her to keep talking. She paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "Would you like to go to the Art Museum with me? You know, as like a... d-date?"

Lapis froze, face blushing dark, eyes wide like a deer in headlights, and heart thudding in her chest like a bass drum. It was the growing look of fear on Peridot's face that finally snapped her back to reality after several seconds of silence, "I-I'd love to!"

She laughed a bit in disbelief as she accepted the ticket and a slip of paper with Peridot's phone number on it with a trembling hand.

The rest of lunch went by quickly and pleasantly, but once Lapis walked away from their table, a deep feeling of dread set in.

\------------------------------

When Lapis returned to her dorm, Pearl looked concerned. Although that was understandable seen as the bluenette had decided to eat away her nerves on the way back to the point where her new blouse rode up to expose a sliver of taunt, tan flesh as her full belly strained against the fabric. She walked through the doorway, cradling her aching gut, as Pearl hurried to her side.

"Lapis? What happened?!"

"Peridot asked me on a date..." The pinkette was patient as she helped her roommate across their room to sit on her bed.

"That's what you wanted, isn't it? Why do you look so upset?" She was rummaging through their medicine cabinet, probably looking for some Tums.

"Because... I'm fat and ugly..." Lapis pulled up the blouse as her vision blurred with tears. She glared down at her stuffed stomach, filled to capacity and resting heavily on her lap.

She felt her friend pull her into a hug, "Listen, Lapis. Fat isn't the same as ugly. My girlfriend is on the plump side and she's easily the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen." Pearl brushed away a few of Lapis's stray tears with a tissue, "So, when is this date?"

"Sunday afternoon... That's her day off." Lapis whispered only to be startled when Pearl clapped her hands.

"Perfect! I don't have class today, so you go get cleaned up and I'll help you pick out some clothes that will make you feel like the beauty you are!" The pinkette was already helping her towards the bathroom, so Lapis was aware that this was no point in arguing.

Once the shower was running, Pearl took the time to grab a snack cake from beneath her bed and unbutton her jeans. Her pale stomach was noticeably softer than the trim ballerina figure she was known for. She smiled a bit and patted it gently, "Oh, Lapis... You're not the only one needing some bigger clothes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, sorry for the late upload again. It's on me, chubbidot, this time.


	10. Works of Art

Lapis stepped out of the shower, one hand squeezing the supple fat on her soft stomach and both eyes filled with worry. What was once firm, tight abs was becoming more akin to the milkshakes she had been enjoying a bit too much recently. It wasn't just her stomach either, she could tell she was softer all over. When she went clothes shopping with Pearl, the bluenette was mortified to see how much of an update her wardrobe needed. She hadn't needed to shop like that since puberty hit in high school.

As she was drying off, Lapis noticed the scale in the corner of the bathroom. As far as she could tell, Pearl hadn't used it since buying it. It seemed to be a pretty obvious message that she should be keeping an eye on her weight gain. Curiosity set in and she stepped onto the scale with trepidation.

"120 pounds... It could be worse, but I better get this under control while I can still read this thing." She tried to laugh at her pitiful attempt at a joke, but it only made the statement sadder.

She was pulled from her thoughts from Pearl banging on the door, "I have to head out early! Your new dress is on your bed! Don't hesitate to call me if you need something!"

The pinkette was already out the door when Lapis exited the bathroom. The dress was right where she was told, dark blue with a sort of darker diamond pattern. Putting it on after her undergarments, it reached below her knees and needed some black leggings, some designer work boots and a black leather jacket to complete her ensemble.

Checking her phone, the bluenette was surprised to see that she actually had plenty of time to meet Peridot at the Art Museum, "I can grab a bagel for the road and still be on time." She didn't acknowledge that she actually grabbed two.

\------------------------------

Peridot adjusted her bow tie, smirking and blushing as Amethyst wolf whistled, "A button-up, suspenders, _and_ those tight codoroies? You aiming to hit a home run or something?"

"I just wanted to make sure I looked nice. Do you think she'll like it?" The blonde shyly posed, her confidence rising as her best friend gave a wide smile.

"If she doesn't, then she needs to borrow your glasses! You look amazing! Now I got to head to work. Call me if you need anything." She gently punched Peridot's shoulder. "You got this Peridactyl."

"Thanks Amethyst!" She watched her roommate leave, checked her phone and took another swish of mouthwash.

\------------------------------

The two met in front of the museum, both staring at the other with wide eyes.

For several seconds neither of them spoke until Peridot took a deep breath, "You look... wow!"

Lapis blushed, giving a soft smile, "You too. I love your bowtie."

"Wow thanks! Um, shall we?" The blonde held out her hand and gestured to the entrance with the other.

The bluenette nodded and took Peridot's hand, her face darkening with a deep blush at the fact she was holding hands with the cute nerd.

They made their way through a large room filled with modern sculptures. It had pieces such as a giant mobile made of scrap metal and what was apparently a dragon made out of lawn chairs. Towards the back window were the works of local school children with a plaque explaining how the children won a contest.

Lapis practically cooed over a pumpkin made to look like a dog, and Peridot sighed with relief at the easy conversation starter, "So you like dogs?"

She could feel her pulse speeding up when the Hawaiian girl smiled at her. It was more beautiful than a sunset.

"Yeah. We had some growing up, but I haven't had one in a few years. Sure, the student housing here is great, but I'm only allowed something like a goldfish and I'd rather have something a bit more cuddly." She winked at the blonde and hoped the action went over as smoothly as she had planned, "What about you?"

Peridot blushed and looked back at the pumpkin-dog, "M-Mostly just virtual pets. Pokemon, Digimon, Tamagatchi, y'know, nerd stuff. I did have a komodo dragon as a kid though." She smiled fondly while Lapis rolled her eyes.

"A thing like that would've eaten you in one bite."

The blonde chuckled softly, "But I wouldn't mind getting a dog someday." She looked back up at her date, "Do you want to check out the abstract or classical works next?"

Lapis tapped her chin and hummed, pretending to be deep in thought, "Abstract. That leaves us with something to ground us afterward."

This earned a proper laugh from Peridot as both girls ignored the scrutinizing glare of one particular guide. Heading to the right was a hallway circling around to the back of the museum where another room served to connect it with the classical section. The blonde didn't find the works to be as trippy as the bluenette initially made them out to be until they examined one particular piece.

"Is it a chicken or a toaster?!"

Peridot swore that the object on the canvas changed with every slight movement of her feet, and that made deciphering it a pain. Her date on the other hand was having a great time, though it might be from how cute the shorter woman looked as her attempts were only causing her to get more flustered.

Lapis smiled at her fondly, "It's abstract, Peridot. You're not supposed to really be able to tell. It's about the viewer's interpretation of the piece."

The blonde girl stared at the canvas for a few more seconds before sighing in defeat, "My interpretation is that it's too convoluted and we should move on."

The back gallery was filled with photographs of colorful flowers, rotting buildings, stormy skies, and bright carnivals. Moments of emotion caught on film. The way the bluenette shifted between each of them, pointing out all the little details that the blonde probably would've missed if she were looking at them alone, was endearing to say the least.

Finally they made their way to the classical paintings. A proud nobleman holding a bowl of fruit, a mural depicting King Beowulf, wheat fields, and a single mossy stone in the middle of a forest. The dark colors, powerful strokes, and small cracks in the paint all told the tale of the works' history before being hung in the hall.

Eventually, they reached the depiction of a lone mermaid. Unlike more modern interpretations, this mythical beauty was very plump with a large, soft stomach and a round face and breasts. The delicate brush strokes of the fair creature showed that the artist took great care into making it as beautiful as possible.

The two stared at the painting with wide eyes, but with vastly different feelings. Peridot imagined Lapis like that, well-fed, soft, and happy with her radiating smile, free in the open ocean. Lapis also envisioned herself, but she was fat and alone, having eaten herself into isolation and away from love. Peridot thought the painting was beautiful, but Lapis hated it.

Their time was interrupted by a mutual growl from their stomachs, the coincidence helping hold off any embarrassment for the taller woman. The shorter one chuckled, "How about we get something to eat? There's a nice Italian restaurant a couple blocks from here."

"That sounds nice."

\------------------------------

The restaurant was, in fact, nice. Perhaps not five star, but the decor was pleasing to the eyes and the food was top notch. They were so engrossed in their conversation that Lapis didn't realize how large her portions were nor how quickly they had gotten to dessert. It didn't fully hit until she noticed how tight her dress was as she got up. Feeling embarrassed and ashamed, she attempted to avoid drawing attention to her overindulgence as she zipped up her jacket during the walk to her car.

"Thanks for walking with me here, Peridot." The bluenette tucked her hair behind her ear and the blonde deeply blushed.

"Not a problem. I really had a fun time today."

"Me too. I'd- I would like to do this again sometime." Lapis shifted on her feet, pretty much expecting a negative response since she could feel her stomach straining against her jacket.

"That would be amazing! I mean, I would like that too." The blonde hoped she didn't come off as too intense.

"So... um... do we kiss now?" Lapis wasn't quite sure what to do, it'd been years since she went on a date that had felt so genuine.

Peridot rubbed the back of her neck nervously, "How about a hug? This was only our first date."

Lapis felt the urge to say no, to keep any semblance of her stuffed gut that hadn't already been noticed hidden, but Peridot's awkward smile and open arms looked far too inviting for her to deny.

The two embraced, Lapis hoping against all odds that the blonde didn't notice her rounded stomach as she tried to subtly suck it in. Peridot, on the other hand, was having to hold herself back from hugging the taller woman tighter and squeezing her newly developing love handles. The hug only lasted a few seconds, but to Peridot it felt like hours before Lapis finally pulled away.

The bluenette smiled down at her date, "I'll see you for lunch tomorrow, right?"

Peridot beamed, "Definitely! Drive safe, I'll see you tomorrow."

Peridot turned on her heel as Lapis got into her car. As soon as she was far enough away to be out of sight, she pulled out her phone to send a text.

Peridactyl: That was so much better than I ever imagined!

Big A: I expect a full report on my desk by tomorrow morning.

Big A: ;)

The blonde chuckled to herself as she got into her own car.

Peridactyl: I am not writing you a report about my date.

Big A: Then be prepared to share all of the juicy details tonight when I get back. 

She paused for a moment to remember the feeling of Lapis's soft belly pressing into her own and how tight her jacket looked when she zipped it over her dress. The image of the mermaid painting flashed in her mind and she smiled.

Peridactyl: You should probably be the one preparing for what I'm gonna tell you. There are plenty of juicy details.


	11. Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a wonderful date, the two talk things over with their roommates and have a wonderful lunch where they plan the next one. It's all looking great going forward. Did anyone else hear a phone go off?

Lapis was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, poking her still bloated gut when she heard the dorm room door open.

"Lapis? I'm back. I brought pie. Where are you?"

The tan woman hurriedly pulled down her shirt and walked out of the bathroom, "I'm right here. How was your day?"

Pearl smiled and set a carryout bag on her desk, "It was great! When I got to the mall Amethyst surprised me with a whole day planned for us to be together! It turns out she got Garnet to cover for her just so that we could have the day to ourselves. Isn't that sweet?"

Lapis sat down on her bed, cringing as the springs creaked beneath her weight, "Yeah, totally."

Pearl opened the carryout bag and took out two large to-go boxes, "It was wonderful, and once Amethyst heard about your date, she suggested pie to celebrate! So I picked these up on the way back. I hope you like chocolate mousse!" She walked over and presented Lapis with a to-go box containing the biggest slice of pie she had ever seen.

"Wow, uh, this is... great."

Her roommate frowned, "You don't seem excited. Would you prefer key lime? I got that for myself, but we can trade if you don't want that one."

Lapis shook her head, "No, no. This is fine. I'm just a little tired."

Pearl sat down next to the bluenette and opened her own to-go box, "Did something go wrong with the date?" She took a bite of her pie, "I thought you loved the art museum."

"I do. It's not that. It's just..." Lapis stared down at the slice of pie in her lap and sighed, "I made such a pig of myself Pearl! We went out to eat after we finished with the museum and I ate so much and I didn't even notice until we were leaving!" She buried her face in her hands and tried to keep the tears in her eyes from overflowing.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hey. Lapis, it's okay." Pearl put an arm around her friend's shoulders, "Come on, it's okay. Look at me. It's okay." She wiped away a few stray tears when Lapis met her eyes.

"I ruined it, Pearl! I'm getting so fat and she was too grossed out to even kiss me!"

Pearl frowned, "Did she say that?"

"No! But..." Lapis ran her fingers through her hair, "But what other reason could there be?!"

"Well, maybe she just wants to take it slow."

Lapis shrugged and looked back down at her pie, "I'm still fat. It's only a matter of time before she realizes that and doesn't want anything to do with me."

Pearl bumped their shoulders together, "Don't say that." She offered her roommate a small smile, "Fat or not, you're a great person. You're pretty and you're nice and you're fun to be around, she'd be stupid to throw that away. Besides... something tells me she won't really mind if you gain weight."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing. She just doesn't sound like the sort of person to leave someone over that. Now eat your pie, will you? I paid good money for that."

Lapis chuckled and picked up her fork, "Alright, alright. I'll eat it."

The two girls sat in silence as they ate their pies together until Pearl got up to take both of their to-go boxes and bring them to the trash. Lapis tried to ignore how full she was and laid down on her back to give her stuffed belly more room.

She turned her head to face Pearl as the pinkette went to sit down on her own bed, "Hey Pearl?"

The tall woman looked over at her, "Do you need something?"

Lapis shook her head, "No, just... thank you. For, y'know, talking with me and stuff."

\------------------------------

Amethyst gave a wide, toothy smile when Peridot practically skipped into the room, "Have a good time?" She chuckled as the blonde fell onto the couch with a happy little nyahaha!

"It was amazing! She's so smart and fun to talk to. She loves dogs and makes abstract art interesting. Her smile is as if it was made by Aphrodite." The nerd cupped her face and squealed with delight.

Her friend gave a hearty laugh, "Did you even take her out to eat, or were you planning on moving into the museum first?"

Peridot's felt her face burning with a deep blush, "Of course I took her out. It was great. So great that I didn't notice just how much she ate until we hugged. She's just so fun to talk to."

The Latina raised an eyebrow, "You hugged? No kiss?"

The blonde gave a quizzical look, "Of course not. It's the first date! I'm no harlot." As she spoke, worry creased her brow, and her hands began to fidget. "Was I supposed to? I want to take this a bit slow, you know? I really want this to be a serious thing later."

Amethyst reached over and began to rub small circles in Peridot's shoulder, recognizing a potential panic attack after being friends for so long, "Hey. I get that, it's alright, but make sure you let her know the next time you talk. Okay? For some girls that first date kiss is just the norm these days."

"I'm having lunch with her again tomorrow, so I'll make it clear. Thanks, Amethyst." She gave a small smile and relaxed back on the couch with a contented sigh.

\------------------------------

Peridot was almost certain Lapis wasn't going to show after thinking over her decision not to kiss the bluenette the day before until she saw her approaching in a stunning powder blue blouse and a black pencil skirt that was starting to look a little bit tighter than it was probably designed to.

The tanned woman smiled and gestured to her outfit, "Sorry if this is a bit much. One of my classes is doing this thing where we have to give professional presentations and apparently jeans and a Metalica shirt don't count."

The blonde shook her head so fast she thought she might've given herself whiplash, "No. You're fine. I mean, it's fine. You look good in anything." She served up the food, making sure that there was some variety from their last several lunches.

"You know, sooner or later I should pay for something. All this courting can't be good for your wallet." Lapis tried to play it cool, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"It's fine. I've got no problem spending money on you. If you don't mind, of course. Besides, the employee discount is pretty good." She didn't give the Hawaiin a chance to respond before she continued, "So, um, my roommate informed me that my reluctance to kiss on the first date might've come off as disinterest, but that isn't the case." She placed a shaky hand on Lapis's, noting how the bluenette blushed at the contact, "I like you a lot and want to take this slow. You're just such a wonderful person that I want to make sure this works. I hope that makes sense?"

Lapis would later curse into a restroom mirror as she fixed her make-up only minutes before class, but for now, she was too relieved to mind the small tears, "I guess I was kind of worried that you didn't like me and were just trying to be nice."

"I'm sorry. How about I take you to the zoo next Sunday? It'll be funny to see all the jealous peacocks."

It wasn't a very good joke, but it made Lapis laugh hard enough that she gave a small snort which only made the blonde swoon.

Lunch, unfortunately, had to end early due to Lapis's class presentation, but Peridot couldn't help but notice that Lapis had eaten even more than her normal share today. The blonde had expected there to be some food left over given the size of the order, but there were only empty containers left on the table.

Once back behind the counter, Peridot's phone pinged with a new message.

Mom: Care to explain your recent spending habits?

Peridot cringed at the message and typed out a quick response.

Peridot: I met a girl.

Mom: We'll talk later.

\------------------------------

The tightness of the pencil skirt around her bloated waist as she walked to her car was a cruel reminder to Lapis that she had just severely overdone it at lunch. She unzipped the side of her skirt before sitting down in her car to give her full belly more room and to avoid a burst seam before her presentation.

One hand pressed gently into her rounded stomach after she got situated. She spent the first half of the drive back to campus massaging her gut in the hopes of easing some of the pain and reducing the bloating before she had to fit back into her skirt and go to class. She sighed at the irony of stress eating over her weight gain as she sucked in her stomach and rezipped her skirt in the parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried something a little fun with the summary. What can I say? I have a thing for theatrics. 
> 
> Just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has read, left kudos and left comments so far. Chubbidot and I are glad to know folks are excited to see where we are going with this work and are enjoying it so far. 
> 
> See you here next week!
> 
> Your one and only MasterArchfiend!


	12. Working Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis decides that she needs to get in a shape with edges while Peridot has to deal with typical secretly rich girl with an overprotective mother problems.

"Okay. Jogging shorts? Check! Sports bra and baggy t-shirt? Check! Dorky sweatband? Check!" Lapis ran through the checklist, ensuring that she had everything to get back in shape save for her off-brand fitbit which she accidentally broke in her rush one day. Not that it was a big deal. All it would take to lose the flab and become a girl Peridot would inevitably love was some good old fashioned willpower!

"Are you ready Lapis?" Pearl called. She didn't sound as ecstatic as usual for something like this, but the bluenette chalked it up to her plan disrupting her roommate's studying schedule.

Stepping out of the bathroom to find Peal in a lavender jogging suit that was looking a smidge snug, Lapis sucked in her small potbelly with a smile and raised her fist in the air, "Let's do this!"

About twenty minutes later and she was sweaty, sore, and unbearably hungry, "I- _huff_ I know haven't gained that much."

Pearl walked up to her, looking less like a mess from the workout, "You just need to pace yourself. It doesn't really help that you spend your free time watching teen soaps."

"You take that..." She paused to catch her breath, "You take that back, I don't-" The tanned girl's mini-rant was cut short by her stomach growling. She looked down at it with a scowl, "You shut up too."

"Come on. We're near the dining hall. Let's get some water and a salad." The pinkette helped her friend to the building and even got their food, but not without drenching them in some heavy dressing.

After regaining some of her energy, Lapis frowned when the greens weren't enough to suppress her hunger. After a brief debate with herself, she came to the conclusion that she needed to focus to work out properly, so a burger and garlic fries wouldn't hurt.

Retrieving the next course, she dug in with the intent of running out of the dining hall once it was done, but Pearl started up a conversation and before she knew it, it was late and one burger had become three more and a large bowl of ice cream. Lapis was so focused on her own exhaustion that she didn't notice Pearl was in a similar state on the way back to their dorm.

\-----------------------------

Peridot felt bad when Amethyst gave her a concerned look as she waved her roommate off with a weak attempt at a fake smile. She sighed and stared down at her phone before pressing the call button.

Her mother's sharp voice came through the receiver almost immediately, "Peridot, my dear, care to explain to me why you're spending money on some gold digger again?"

"Hello to you too mother. For the record, Lapis is not a gold digger. She doesn't know anything about you or our family. She's just this really wonderful and beautiful woman that I want to date. It's as simple as that." The blonde's tone was bordering on aggressive, but she knew that this wasn't something to lose her cool over.

"You have too much faith in this girl, Peridot. You had better cut this off before you end up penniless and heartbroken. Even if she doesn't know about the family, she will notice the amount of money you're spending on her. This sort of thing is dangerous. Do you remember what happened to your cousin? She's lucky her father sent some trusted staff to check on her. Do I have to do the same with you?" Her mother spoke with a mix of worry and annoyance in her tone.

"I'm fine, mother. Lapis has asked to pay for things instead of me, it's not a big deal." Peridot was glad this wasn't a video call so her mother didn't see her blush as she thought of all the meals she's bought for Lapis.

"What is her last name? Nevermind, I found it." Her mother went quiet, making small hums as she did something.

"Are you running a background check?! Really mom?!" She hadn't expected her mother to take this so seriously, but then again this was her first relationship with someone her mother had never met.

"Well it looks like her family is decently well off in the art world, but they are still poor by comparison, so you need to be careful. Understood?" That last question was said with the finality of a statement, giving no room for argument.

"Understood. Is there anything else?" Peridot wanted to end the conversation, but it was best to not hang up on her mother.

"Yes, there is. I want you to call home more often. You know that I worry and I love you." Her voice sounded warmer, something that indicated she actually meant it.

"I'll do that. I love you, mom." She hung up the phone and let out an exasperated sigh.

Amethyst walked back in just to see the blonde throw a couch cushion at the wall.

"Who does an illegal background check while on the phone with their own daughter?! Does she seriously not trust my judgment? I'm already running a third of her company while attending college with no issues what so ever!" Peridot groaned and ran her fingers through her hair, "This is ridiculous!"

The Latina gently patted her on the shoulder. "She just worries about you. That's all dude. Be thankful you got the rich parent who actually cares about their kid."

"I guess you have a point... but it was still a breach of Lapis' privacy." Peridot placed the cushion back and sat down with a huff.

"Well, I know something that'll cheer you up. The original Transformers movie! Courtesy of my folks." Amethyst flashed the case with a smile which her roommate returned.

\--------------------------------------

Lapis smiled as she put on her workout outfit, despite her heavy lunches with Peridot, she felt confident that her new routine was working out great, and with Pearl as her coach, she knew this would be effective. She felt pretty grateful for having such a fitness and health oriented roommate, although she failed to notice the look of guilt on her friend's face every time they would arrive at the dining hall.

"I'm going to look great and Peridot will definitely want to stick around." The bluenette told herself as she began her brisk walk, her chubby belly bouncing imperceptively with every step.

Pearl bumped their shoulders together as they walked, "You already look, great dummy."

Lapis rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'm going to look even better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! That's on me, the one and only MasterArchfiend. Things got unexpectedly busy on me and it even delayed my requested drabbles, deck projects and I just realized that I haven't had dinner...
> 
> Sorry about that! I'll see you soon! 
> 
> P.S. Peridot is surprisingly talented isn't she? She probably just has a custom app that let's her do her company work the same way I play Duel Links. Like some sort of cute, nerdy Seto Kaiba or something...


	13. Round Two

Lapis woke up with a bright smile and to a good breakfast. Her workout routine must be effective as she hasn't dealt with embarrassing slivers of exposed flesh at meals or those painful red marks from her clothes digging into her skin. Sure she might have seen a bit more junk in her trunk as she showered and dressed into a pair of red jeans, a matching red long-sleeved shirt, and black combat boots, but that was to be expected with all the jogging she had been doing. Right?

"Really Lapis? The Red Comet outfit? She's taking you to a zoo, not a convention." Pearl said, rolling her eyes as she munched on a cheese danish.

"It may not be a convention, but Peridot makes me feel like I can be a dork around her, you know? She's not going to judge what I wear." The bluenette double checked the contents of her small backpack she planned to use in place of a purse.

 _Or how it fits you,_ the pinkette thought to herself as she waved her roommate off right as her phone started ringing.

"Amethyst? How about corndogs tonight? They have ones with what? Sounds perfect! See you tonight, love you!"

\---------------------------------------------

Peridot had picked out an old custom black Digimon shirt featuring a Tyrannomon surrounded by hearts and her favorite walking jeans. That was probably the only downside to a date at the zoo, all the walking, but it would be worth it to see Lapis happy.

She barely acknowledged Amethyst's conversation, something about classical music and dinner, as she was dropped off. A minor accident the night before had made access to her car impossible, as it was at a body shop getting fixed up, but luckily her roommate was able to drop her off with time to spare with the whole "Family Emergency" line to be a couple of minutes late.

When the bluenette pulled up, she once more took Peridot's breath away with the simple sway of her hips as they greeted each other, "I always thought blue was your color, but I guess you look amazing in red too."

Lapis blushed, giving a small chuckle at how cute the nerd was, "You look nice too. That's a cool dinosaur."

"It's a Digimon, but yeah, they are pretty cool, but we are here to see real animals today." Peridot waved her hand only for Lapis to grab it, startling her a bit and causing her to jump.

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were-" The tanned girl started to pull away, but the blonde squeezed her hand a little tighter.

"It's okay. Just caught me by surprise is all." The two blushed furiously as they intertwined their fingers and paid for admission.

The zoo was a bit more complex than the art museum, being more of a figure eight, but the route was planned.

First was the reptile house.

"Oh, that iguana is such a handsome little fellow! He must be about 3 years old." Normally Lapis would be a bit perturbed by all the scaly critters around her, but watching Peridot gush over all of the different reptiles was adorable.

"How do you know that? The name on the cage is Jessie." The bluenette expected a lengthy lecture, but instead, she received: "My cousins raise them for habitat conservation. I played with reptiles the same way most kids did with dogs or cats. You remember the komodo dragon?"

"I still have a hard time believing that thing is real, seen as you're still alive and breathing."

"Oh, it was real. I'll show you pictures sometime!"

The birds were next.

It was loud, incomprehensible, and a bit of headache for Peridot, but she couldn't complain as Lapis watched them all with bright eyes.

"Look at that beak on the toucan! Oh and those feathers on the birds of paradise! Oh my gosh, that one looks like Pearl!" She excitedly exclaimed pointing at what the blonde assumed was some sort of woodpecker.

The large mammals followed.

People starred as Lapis and Peridot busted up laughing upon seeing the lions, tigers, and bears all in succession, but the two didn't care. How could you not laugh when the zoo had a sign at the end with the words "Oh My!" at the end?

The hyenas didn't look as scary as movies might lead one to believe, and neither of them could tear their eyes away from one of the rhinos playing with a tire for a good few minutes.

They probably would've moved on to the smaller animals, but Lapis's legs were getting a bit sore and she felt herself being hungry. Before she could suggest resting for lunch, Peridot's stomach growled.

Lapis chuckled, "I guess it's about time for lunch, huh?"

Peridot blushed a little as they turned around to begin searching for somewhere they could stop and eat, "I guess it is. Anything you've seen around that looks good?"

Lapis hummed to herself and tapped her chin, "I think there was a barbeque place back near the zoo entrance. They had indoor seating, which sounds a bit more appealing than getting something from a stand and eating on a bench."

\---------------------------------------------

Lapis tried to subtly rub her full stomach underneath the table as Peridot continued talking. Ordering a full rack of ribs hadn't seemed like such a bad plan when she first sat down, but now her belly was pressing against the fabric of her shirt and she couldn't think of a way to hide it. She knew that the bloating would go down eventually, and working off any extra weight wouldn't be an issue, but trying to hide her overindulgence for the rest of the date didn't sound so easy. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Peridot's voice.

"Lapis? Are you alright?"

Her head snapped up to meet Peridot's eyes, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. What's up?"

The blonde shifted in her seat, "I was just asking if you wanted to come back to my place after we finish up here. We could have dinner and maybe watch a movie together? B-but only if you wanted to of course!"

Lapis raised her eyebrows, "Oh, yeah, that sounds great. I would love to."

Peridot visibly relaxed, "Okay, cool. That's awesome. So, um, did you want to go check out the rest of the zoo now?"

The bluenette pressed her hand into her belly and tried sucking in. She decided it was probably safe to wander around so long as she didn't get distracted and let her stomach muscles relax. The bloating was bound to be gone by dinner time and she could just make sure to not eat too much at Peridot's place. She could get through this.

"Sure," She smiled at her date, "Let's go."

The next destination was the primate house. Nothing extravagant like gorillas, much to Peridot's clear disappointment, but they got to see orangutans using sticks to eat ants and if Lapis didn't know any better, she could've sworn one was blowing her kisses.

The two broke into laughs seeing the spider monkeys mimicking the janitors, using the leaves in their habitat as brooms. Lapis had to quickly point out a random one so Peridot didn't catch her sucking her gut back in.

Seeing a child with a penguin balloon led them to their next destination: the arctic animals.

The zoo had Rockhopper and Macaroni Penguins, the latter making the bluenette wonder if the blonde would look similar with ridiculous eyebrows. She internally bemoaned herself for struggling to keep her gut sucked in. The bloating wasn't as bad as before, but it still wasn't gone.

Polar bear cubs played with a ball, batting it around as the mother watched the crowd with a look that said "Touch them and I'll eat you". Peridot knew that look from when her mother took the time off to take her to her high school prom.

"Parents can be something else, huh?" She said, noting that Lapis simply nodded. "Are you okay? You look uncomfortable?"

"What? Oh no, I'm fine! Just realized that I haven't talked to my folks about you at all. Is it too early for that?" Lapis was thankful for the topic, she wasn't aware that holding her gut in was affecting her expression.

"I don't know. I guess that's something to think about eventually, but how about we see the seals first? It's not like we need to worry about this right now." The blonde's smile was infectious and the other woman couldn't help, but respond with her own.

The seals were adorable as expected, their round little faces and blubbery bodies did, however, make the Hawaiian girl acutely aware of how painful keeping her stomach sucked in was becoming, but she tried to distract herself by watching the nerd gush.

"Oh, I bet they are just so soft to hug! Look at their faces! They are so chubby and adorable!" Peridot's enthusiasm was just so genuine that Lapis felt herself relax a bit.

They pondered a bit on where to go next, only for Peridot to grumble quietly.

"What's wrong? Did I do something or-" Lapis was cut off with the blonde furiously shaking her head.

"No! No! No! I didn't mean for you to notice. It's just that my feet are starting to hurt and I don't see an open bench for us." The blonde blushed, averting her eyes in embarrassment.

"Well, it is getting late. Should we go to your place then?" The bluenette blushed at how straightforward that came out, "For dinner and a movie of course."

"Y-yeah! Let me just call my roommate in case she needs to tidy up." Pulling out her phone, she quickly pulled up the number, "Hey, Amy! Look, I was wonde- what? Oh! Okay! Well, that's okay. Have fun!"

Lapis watched her date's face as her expressions changed from nervous excitement to full nervousness. "Is something wrong?"

"She got stuck in traffic and her date is on a time limit to make it to the last showing of some play or something, so I kinda need a ride from you." The blonde shifted her feet a bit and the bluenette wonder if it was normal for such a simple favor to feel so intimate.

"Sure! No problem! Just let me freshen up a bit before we go!" Quickly walking to the nearest public restroom, Lapis went into a stall to take note of how bloated she still was, "Okay. It's not bad and I should handle dinner just fine. Get it together Lapis. Peridot said she wanted to take this slow, so it's not like she'll want to see anything like _this_ on the second date."

Meanwhile, Peridot was making silent prayers of her own. "I really hope this doesn't weird her out. It's not like going to your date's place strictly means they want to have intercourse, right? I'll make dinner, maybe watch a movie and she'll head home. Simple, sweet, and genuine."

Lapis came back out of the bathroom and held her hand out for Peridot to take, "Ready to go?"

"Yup!" The blonde smiled brightly at her date and began to contemplate what to cook for dinner as they walked to the parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to another apology from us for uploading late. Life sure is unpredictable. Thanks for your patience as we continue to work on keeping to our upload schedule and we hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it!  
> <3 chubbidot


	14. Dinner Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gay panic? Yes.  
> Useless, insecure lesbians who are not quite at the K-word yet? Yes.  
> Lapis cheating on her diet? Yes.  
> Random reference because I like that one Avengers meme? Possibly.

Peridot and Lapis were in what one could only describe as panicked silence as they made way to the blonde's apartment. The bluenette, hoping to reduce the tension tried to make light conversation.

"So... you said your roommate was on a date. Should I worry about her bringing some fun home?"

The nerd nervously chuckled, "Oh no. Nothing like that. She's got emergency motel money in case I'm home or her girlfriend's roommate is."

"Really? You got something like that too?" If she wasn't driving, Lapis probably would've slapped her hand over her mouth for that joke.

"I guess that I could if we, ever, you know." Peridot's voice came out in a nervous squeak, an obvious sign for the Hawaiian woman to change the subject.

"So, dinner? Are we doing take-out? I've got some coupons in the glovebox."

Peridot gasped in mock offense, "Take-out? No. No. No. You're coming into my home and that means that I am going to make us something nice. It'll be quick too so don't worry."

"Oh, wow. You don't have to do that."

"No, I insist. I love to cook anyway."

Lapis was quite impressed at the location of Peridot's place, though she tried to not show her worry about it being on the third floor. Thankfully Peridot directed them to the elevator and soon they were at the door.

"Okay. I'll give you a little tour." Peridot said as she fiddled with her keys, "This is the entryway which leads into the living room."

"That tv is huge!" The bluenette was surprised at the large tv and plethora of gaming systems.

"My uncle owns a pawn shop and gives me good deals. Over there is the bathroom, just don't touch the lavender towels. My roommate doesn't like her stuff touched without permission." Peridot pointed to a small kitchenette, "And this is where I'll be making you the best meal you've ever had."

"Oh yeah? You really love spoiling me, don't you?" Lapis smiled as Peridot blushed.

"I like making people happy. Seeing them smile makes me feel good, and your smile is particularly beautiful, so I think you deserve a little extra." The blonde directed toward the couch, "Now pick out something to watch while I get cooking."

"Are you sure you don't want me to help? I'm no French rat, but I have some skills." Lapis's voice wavered a bit when she saw the plethora of ingredients that were being prepared with such ease.

"I'm sure. You just relax."

Lapis nodded and turned back to the selection of movies, "Any preferences for genre?"

"No horror. I can't watch that stuff unless someone's there to-" Peridot blushed deeply, "Umm... How about Camp Pining Hearts: The Movie?"

Lapis was somewhat relieved that Peridot had picked something that wouldn't lead to them being in close contact. She may have halted her gain, but her abs weren't back just yet.

Looking over the video shelves, the bluenette gasped. "You have the original '87 movie?! They only made 800 DVDs and some jerk used half of them to make a disco ball!"

Peridot didn't look up from the stove, "Mom got it off of a business associate. Apparently, the guy thought that a golf cart was more valuable."

"All the golf carts in the world aren't worth as much as this! Do you realize this was one of the first times two guys kissed in western media without it being a gag? We gotta watch it!" Lapis took a moment to figure out which device would be the DVD player and waited patiently for Peridot to finish the food.

"Here we are! Some Pasta a la Peridot!" Handing the hefty dish over, Peridot sat close to Lapis, but not as close as she really wanted to. She was still worried about coming across as too forward.

"This looks great!" The smell of delicious pasta made Lapis forget her concerns about overeating as she quickly dug into the meal.

The blonde had to tear her eyes away from the woman stuffing herself beside her and start the movie. Peridot had seen the movie enough times to be able to recite most of the lines from memory, so she snuck glances at her date when she knew the bluenette would be focused on the screen.

The occasional satisfied moan made the nerd's head spin. The joy on the Hawaiian girl's face as she smiled with each bite made it hard for Peridot to tear her eyes away. Not even Percy calling Paulette out on her two-timing was enough to fully distract her from the goddess sitting next to her!

 _"I have a beautiful woman stuffing herself on my cooking in my home. It's okay. Just keep your co-"_ Peridot's train of thought halted when a sliver of tanned flesh peeked out of the other woman's shirt, nearly making her choke. She had noticed her date's top was looking a bit tight after lunch, but she hadn't expected one more meal to be the fabric's limit.

By the time Lapis had finished eating, her shirt had ridden up to expose a few more inches of her full belly and it was driving Peridot crazy, especially since the bluenette didn't even seem to notice. She wanted nothing more than to put her arms around the Hawaiian woman and rub her bloated stomach for her, but she wasn't ready to have _that_ conversation yet, so instead, she pulled out her phone and texted Amethyst.


End file.
